Your Fierce Love (The Bennett Family)(31)

       
           


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"I can imagine that," I say, my stomach twisting as I remember my conversations with Quentin.

"Ava will be here. She's backstage with Pippa now," Daniel adds.

Everyone sits down, Blake and me included. As an energetic, upbeat song  replaces the soft background music, I realize this is the first time  we're together in front of the family, or at the very least the brothers  (Will's party doesn't count since we were still on shaky ground). But I  know how this works. Everyone will know about this by the time the  evening ends.

Ava joins us, sitting in one of the two remaining chairs. She grins at me, giving me a thumbs-up.

"How come you're not watching with Sebastian from the back room?" I ask quietly.

"I like to tease him." Even in the dim light, I can tell Ava's blushing.  "Besides, I need to concentrate on the show, put out any fires if  needed, and Sebastian is very good at distracting me."

"Oh yeah, the Bennett men should come with a warning sign."

When I turn to face the runway, out of the corner of my eye I see Ava  furiously typing on her phone. Correction: everyone will know about me  being here within an hour.

Blake takes my hand, kisses my knuckles, then puts our interlinked hands on the table as the show starts.

I watch with rapt attention, not wanting to miss one detail. The girls  strutting up and down the runway are gorgeous. They're all wearing  simple clothes so the jewelry stands out.

I have to admit, I have a hard time seeing the jewelry on the runway, so  I glance at the screens often, but many in the audience appear to do  the same.

At midpoint, there is a break, and I excuse myself because I desperately  need to go to the bathroom. As I walk away, I catch two women sitting a  few tables away watching me. They have their heads together, and one is  pointing at me, but she quickly withdraws her hand when I look her way.  I rack my mind, wondering if I've met them before. Maybe in passing at  work? I really can't place them, and considering they pretended to look  away when I caught them staring, I don't care about placing them. If  people lack manners, I won't spend any of my energy being pissed and  annoyed about it.

To my surprise, the toilets are empty. Thank goodness. I practically sprint to a stall.

When I dress up minutes later, I have to rearrange my boobs. It's the  type of dress that has the unfortunate tendency of sliding up from too  much movement, and now the tight part of the fabric meant to highlight  my waist is squishing the underside of my boobs. I remain in the stall,  one hand in my neckline, when I hear the bathroom door swing open.

"Oh please, Blake's lowered his standards. That woman is so insipid  she's practically invisible. All I'm saying is he'd better not expect me  to jump in his bed once he's done with her. Once standards drop, I'm  out."

My hand freezes in the act of rearranging my breasts. My blood, on the  other hand, is starting to boil. I'm not sure that the glass of  champagne I had is helping.

"She seemed to be friendly with everyone in the family." This is another  speaker. "He never asked you to sit with his family at the shows."

"Maybe she wanted to snag a Bennett and realized Blake and Daniel are  the only ones left. As if anyone's gonna make those settle. Goodness  knows I tried."

"You should switch brothers. Daniel's here tonight."

"Nah, they talk. The one thing they're not sharing is women."

"Why would you want to marry into that god-awful family anyway? I mean,  they're rich, but they're all over each other all the time. I can't  understand how anyone can live like that."

Try living without a family for a change.

My hackles rise. I can't believe anyone would trash Blake and his family  like this. Then there's also the small fact that they insulted me. I  feel like punching the door, but then again, the poor door hasn't done  anything to upset me. These women, on the other hand...

"Rich trumps annoying. Blake was always generous. Maybe I'll give him  another go after he stops running around with that twat. If I can't get a  ring, at least I'll get myself some more jewelry. You're right about  the family, though. And now so many of them have kids. It's a nightmare.  Blake was spending time with them almost every weekend. I think he was  hoping I'd join him, but he never straight-up asked. I think my eye  rolls were a dead giveaway. Like there aren't a million better things to  do in a weekend than waste them with brats."

What the hell? Who talks like that about kids? What kind of person picks  on innocents? Bullies, that's who. Now I understand why Blake waited a  while before asking me to join him during his time with the kids.                       
       
           


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Right, it's time to step out and face the music. I quickly rearrange the  dress over my chest and open the door of the cubicle. The two women  smirk when they see me, then return to refreshing their makeup. Since  they're silent, I can't tell who's who. Time to find out.

"So, which one's the bitch and which one's the sidekick?"

Their faces fall simultaneously, and I don't feel one ounce of guilt.

"What did you just call us?"

"Ah, you're the bitch. I recognize the voice." I have to admit, Blake  has exquisite taste in women. This particular one could stride down the  runway herself. Leggy, blonde, huge boobs. What the hell am I thinking?  He has terrible taste in women. She's a viper.

"You don't talk to me like that."

I'm not catty often, but when I am, I have a damn good reason. I'm pissed.

"I talk how I want to anyone who insults the Bennett family and me.  They're good people. The best people. And you don't pick on kids. Anyone  with a shred of decency knows that."

"Please," the bitch says with a smirk.

The sidekick tilts her head to one side. "Insipid and potty-mouthed. My, hasn't Blake gotten himself quite a deal."

"You two must have very sad lives if you're wasting such a beautiful  evening gossiping about others instead of enjoying yourselves." I cross  my arms over my chest. "Blake is a great man. If all you've wanted from  him were presents and money, you missed out on the best."

Both women snort, and then I realize I'm stooping to their level.  Instead of wasting my time here, I could be chatting and laughing with  the clan. Without another word, I leave the bathroom, feeling a lot  calmer. I have to admit, letting out the anger is a good thing. It  brings relief.

I walk at a brisk pace to my place. The table is empty because everyone  is mingling during the break. Our glasses have been refilled with  champagne, and I immediately attack mine.

Blake drops in his seat a few seconds later, kissing my forehead.

"What took you so long?"

"Ran into some unpleasant people."

"Are you okay? Do I need to punch someone?"

"No. You just have terrible taste in women."

"What?"

"Look over my shoulder, two rows back and three tables to the right."

I saw them return to their table shortly after I did. Blake looks and groans. Then he focuses on me again.

"Yes, I've made some questionable choices in the past."

"Questionable implies there might be some chance of redemption."

He smiles. "Bad choices. That was one of the worst."

"Now we're talking."

He slides a thumb under my jaw, shifting to the edge of his seat, closer to me.

His smile grows more pronounced. "I've never seen you mad. It's a good  look on you. You're fierce. Maybe I should get you mad more often."

I huff, pulling away. This man is clueless, but I'll show him the right  ways. "Don't. I don't like to get mad. It's a waste of energy. Then I  get mad at myself for being mad. Like now. Instead of enjoying this  evening, I'm-why are you laughing?"

"Your monologue is adorable. You ramble even more than usual."

"Thanks, you're really winning points right now."

"I didn't know I was supposed to win points."

I sigh. "You weren't. I'm still rambling. Just … how could you be with that woman?"

"Loneliness. I used to think that bad company is better than no company."

I have no comeback to that. It had never occurred to me that Blake could  get lonely. Not with his large family or his social skills. It seems  that whenever I see him, he's in the midst of a crowd, either chatting  or entertaining the group.

"But I was a jackass for a long time, so I got what I deserved. Sorry you ran into Vivian, though."

"That's her name? Sounds like a villain, which fits, I guess. I would've pegged her for a Cruella or something."

"I can't believe you're sassy even when you're pissed."

"I do what I can. She was really bitchy, about you, me, your family. I  can't believe anyone would pick on your family-even the kids. I gave her  a piece of my mind."